Editing Dirk (section)

==Highland dirk{{anchor|Scottish}}==
{{main article|Highland dress}}
{{further|sgian dubh}}
[[File:George Sanders - George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon.jpg|thumb|left|Painting of [[George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon]] (1770&ndash;1836) in highland dress.]]

The '''Scottish dirk''' (also "Highland dirk", [[Scottish Gaelic]]: {{lang|gd|biodag}}), as a symbolic traditional and ceremonial weapon of the Highland Cathairean (cateran or warrior), is worn by officers, pipers and drummers of Scottish Highland regiments. The development of the Scottish dirk as a weapon is unrelated to that of the naval dirk; it is a modern continuation of the 16th-century [[ballock dagger|ballock]] or [[rondel dagger]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}}

The traditional Scottish dirk is a probable development from the 16th century but like all medieval societies, the Highlander needed a knife for everyday use. The dirk became symbolic of a Highland man’s honour and oaths were sworn on the steel which was believed to be holy. The following highlights the importance of the dirk in Highland culture:<ref>Seago, Dale (1999). ''The Weapons and Fighting Methods of the Highland Scots: A Study of the Historical Swordsmanship and Warfare Practices of the Scottish Highlanders''.</ref>

<blockquote>The dirk occupies a unique niche in Highland culture and history. Many Highland Scots were too cash-poor to buy a sword, following the Disarming Acts enacted to erode Highland martial insurrections but virtually every male carried a dirk—and carried it everywhere! If in Japan the katana was the soul of the Samurai, in Scotland the dirk was the heart of the Highlander. In many warrior cultures oaths were sworn on one's sword. Among the Gael, however, binding oaths with the force of a geas (involving dire supernatural penalties for breaking such an oath) were sworn on one's dirk. The English, aware of this, used the custom against the Highlanders after Culloden: When Highland dress was prohibited in 1747 those Gael who could not read or sign an oath were required to swear a verbal oath, "in the Irish (Scots Gaelic) tongue and upon the holy iron of their dirks", not to possess any gun, sword, or pistol, or to use tartan: "... and if I do so may I be cursed in my undertakings, family and property, may I be killed in battle as a coward, and lie without burial in a strange land, far from the graves of my forefathers and kindred; may all this come across me if I break my oath."</blockquote>

During the period of proscription, only service in a British regiment permitted Highlanders to bear their traditional arms and dress. The [[78th Fraser Highlanders]], raised in 1757, wore full highland dress uniform;<ref name="BRO">Browne, James; ''A History of the Highlands and of the Highland Clans'', Vol. IV, Edinburgh, Scotland: A. Fullarton & Co. (1838), p. 250.</ref> their equipment was described by [[James Stuart (East India Company officer)|Major-General James Stewart]] in 1780 as including a "musket and [[Scottish broadsword|broadsword]], to which many soldiers added the dirk at their own expense."<ref name="BRO" /><ref name="GRA">Grant, James; ''British Battles on Land and Sea'', Vol. II, London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin (1873), p. 82.</ref>

When worn, the dirk normally hangs by a leather strap known as a "frog" from a dirk belt, which is a wide leather belt having a large, usually ornate buckle, that is worn around the waist with a kilt.<ref>Van Witsen, Leo; ''Costuming for Opera: Who Wears What and Why'', Vol. 2, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, {{ISBN|0-8108-2933-9}} (1994), p. 133.</ref>  Many Scottish dirks carry a smaller knife and fork which fit into compartments on the front of the sheath,<ref>Whitelaw, C. E.; ''Scottish History & Life: Scottish Weapons'', Glasgow: James Maclehose & Sons (1902), p. 238.</ref> and a smaller knife known as a [[sgian dubh]] is also worn tucked into the top of the hose when wearing a kilt.<ref>[[Geddes MacGregor|MacGregor, Geddes]]; ''Scotland: An Intimate Portrait'' (1st ed.), Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., {{ISBN|0-395-56236-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-395-56236-9}} (1980), p. 40.</ref>
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